Chez Maurice can expand: Régie Bar Chez Maurice is still open, but customers are reduced to a trickle because of the 21-day liquor-licence suspension. (Gazette, Andrea Richer)   by Andrea Richer ST. LAZARE - Bar chez Maurice owner Richard Chartrand has won the right from Quebec's Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux to increase his seating capacity by 20 percent. The regulatory body's decision to allow Chartrand to expand the seating capacity from 641 patrons to 792 runs counter to the recommendations of the Sûreté du Québec, which last month won a three-week suspension of the legendary show bar's liquor licence which began last week. The case was heard at the Montreal Palais de Justice May 4-6, where the SQ presented a report detailing a list of criminal acts it attributed either directly or indirectly to Chez Maurice, including armed aggression, assault, impaired driving, drug-related crime, vandalism and theft. An increase in the number of clients will result in a proportional increase in the number of crimes to be committed, Lt. Sébastien Demers' investigation report indicated. To back up their contention that a larger capacity would bring more crime, the SQ presented a CD-ROM containing images of the parking spaces between 12:34 a.m. and 3:25 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2008. However the Régie concluded from the visual evidence filed that there were no visible acts of violence or wrongdoing among a crowd which spent several hours outside the bar. According to court documents, testimony and documentary evidence demonstrated a good working relationship between Chartrand's staff and the SQ. Moreover, said the Régie, it appears staff interventions are effective in monitoring incidents of violence and they do not hesitate to call the police when necessary. According to Chartrand, the 21-day suspension of his serving licence was due to the frustration of SQ officers who have to post extra man power around the popular hangout. Chartrand told the Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette he believes he disturbs the "guy who makes the schedules" because the SQ has to plan an extra car near the bar. "I've been told that I called the police too often," Chartrand added. "I always call the police because I say that [the role of] the police is to protect." During his testimony, Sgt. Demers stated that the Sûreté du Québec's Vaudreuil-Soulanges West detachment has three patrol cars on any given Friday evening, two of which are assigned to Chez Maurice. Lt. Francis Oliver of the SQ's west detachment said Thursday the SQ doesn't invent problems, adding "We have so many complaints from citizens, it's appalling."?Many of the callers want to remain anonymous, Oliver added. Demers also observed in his report "..the Bar chez Maurice is being used increasingly by people other than white (our italics) connected to street gangs which increases the problem of the licensed establishment." Oliver denied the observation was racial profiling, noting that while there are almost no members of visible minorities in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, there are some at the bar, "which means there are increasingly more clients who come from outside." The SQ report mentions that the bar is located in a commercial district but has virtually no parking space, which causes problems with the owners of businesses in the nearby shopping mall. "This is completely false," Chartrand said in response. " I own half that parking lot and the other half, my father sold it to them, we kept the rights to use it,"?he added. "In addition to the other side, I have a tolerance because I let them use my part and they let me use their spaces." The SQ's Oliver said that no matter how well Chartrand runs his establishment, he needs to have greater control of what goes on outside in the parking lot. "Even last weekend, we gave seven tickets to people around the bar for various offenses, drinking, taking drugs and urinating in a public place," Oliver added. Because of the 21-day suspension, 45 of Chartrand's employees find themselves without a job and the owner fears bankruptcy. "It costs $1,000 per day to operate this bar, I will lose $ 21,000 for the 21 days time I will be closed. I will lose $110,000 in turnover, and I still have a mortgage of $ 16,000 per month to meet," said Chartrand. "It's a good warning for him,"?Oliver replied.